MT3: More Than Anyone
by Elise Marie
Summary: The last one ended with Sam discovering that Jack was the father of her child. How will Jack react when she tells him the truth? Third in the More Than series. REVISED. Follows MT2 and followed by More Than Minis and MT4.
1. Default Chapter

**Title**: More Than Anyone

**Category**: Sam and Jack romance/angst

**Spoilers/Season:** Third in the "More Than" series. Set in an alternate universe which is canon until "Entity" and then spins off. This story is set in roughly early season 6.

**Rating**: PG13

**Content Warnings:** Maybe a bad word or two.

**Summary:** The last one ended with Sam discovering that Jack was the father of her child. How will Jack react when she tells him the truth?

**Disclaimer: Stargate and SG-1 are the property of Showtime, MGM, Double Secret and Gekko and they do not belong to the author. This piece of fanfiction was created solely for entertainment purposes and no money was exchanged. No copyright infringement was intended and the original characters, situations and plots are property of the author. This piece of fanfiction must not be archived without the author's consent.**

**Comments:** I am editing and revising this story, along with the two before it, so that I can prepare the sequels for publishing. No major plot changes have been performed with my revision, just some speech and descriptions.

Dedicated to Maria – my new little 'sister'.

Enjoy!

Copyright © Elise November 2003.

Revised June 2010.

**More Than Anyone****.**

It was the middle of the night on P9R-78F, more commonly known as Notermah, and it was warm, as usual. Colonel Jack O'Neill was sitting out on the grass just outside of the main town, Deppousst. As usual, the colonel could not sleep. He was used to missions where one team-member remained awake and on guard, while the other three slept out under the stars. On Notermah, however, each member of the team had their own quarters. It felt too safe to Jack. He was uneasy with everyone being completely at ease. He did not like it.

That was not what was preventing Jack from sleeping yet again.

SG-1 had been on a mission to Notermah for three months now and they were half way through the mission. They had been sent by Hammond to negotiate a treaty with the peoples of the planet. Notermahens were almost technologically equal with Earth; Daniel surmised that the Notermahens possessed a very similar timeline to their own. The main difference between the two races existed in the medical and defence fields. Their defence technology was decades behind humans' because they had no need for defences or weaponry. The entire planet was as peaceful as any civilisation could be; it was the kind of peace that Jack could only ever wish for on Earth. There had never been any wars, conflicts or disagreements between any people on the planet. The Notermahens were mildly telepathic so deceit was impossible and it appeared that telepathy was the only physiological difference between the Notermahens and the humans from Earth. Maybe it was the next evolutionary step for them.

Their medical technology was the opposite. They were years ahead of humans. They could cure almost any viral or genetic disease and they had cured the tawnot, which was equivalent to human cancer. In fact their life span as individuals was nearing 200 years and it appeared to be getting longer with each generation. Daniel had surmised that this might have aided the development of their telepathy. Earth desperately wanted some of this technology because to be able to cure almost any ailment and increase the human life span was almost invaluable.

And Earth was bargaining with their defence capabilities. SG-1 was spending so long here in an attempt to alert the Notermahens to the problem of the Goa'uld and the many other hostile alien races out there. Daniel and Carpenter were also very interested in the archaeological history of the planet because, like most other planets, the Notermahens had been seeded from Earth. So far, SG-1 had found evidence that the Goa'uld had once ruled this planet, but they had not yet uncovered any evidence as to why the Goa'uld had left. The Notermahens had never had much interest in their long-forgotten history until SG-1 had arrived.

None of this explained why Jack could never sleep.

Jack had had a confusing and troublesome past year. Over a year ago, he had slept with Samantha Carter, changing their relationship forever. A series of events had led to Sam sleeping with someone else, Jack leaving Earth to live with another woman and Sam to become pregnant with the other man's child. Jack had returned to Earth eight months later, partly to restore a relationship with Sam and partly because he had left in haste and life on Edora had not been what he thought it could be. He could not try and build a new relationship with Sam upon his return when he discovered she was pregnant. The child would be about seven months old now. Jack sometimes wished that he were the father. That he could be with Sam.

Prior to Sam going into labour, they had shared a kiss. Jack had realised that he was still in love with his ex-junior officer. It was impossible now that she had a child with someone else. Not that she was with Brad, the child's father, but it would still be impossible. She was his junior officer again now or at least she was for every other mission, anyway. They had finally managed a semblance of normality and a very new and hesitant friendship had been developing before SG-1 had been sent to Notermah for their six month mission.

And something behind the events of the past year was preventing Jack from sleeping. Maybe it was the fact that life was returning to normal and he had returned to Earth with no intention of his previous normal life. Maybe it was because of all the changes that had occurred, none of them had gone in Jack's favour. Once upon a time he had been happy enough to be friends with Sam and now it did not seem like enough. Unable to banish his thoughts or do anything about them, Jack was doomed to sleepless nights forever.

X X X X X

Doctor Daniel Jackson crossed the room and stared out of his window. From here he could see out across the horizon to where the sun was slowly setting. Off to his right was the neighbouring city, Bervofree. Just outside of the city, Daniel could see a lone figure sitting on the grass. It was Jack and he was watching the sun setting, as he did every evening. Daniel had no idea at what time Jack would go to bed because he always fell asleep before Jack made any move to return to town. Jack was up at the same time as everyone else in the mornings and he never seemed overly tired. In fact, during the day Jack seemed perfectly normal and no one would know that there was something on his mind. The only way that Daniel knew that something was wrong was Jack's nightly sky gazing and his avoidance of discussing Sam Carter in any way, shape or form.

There was a knock on the door and Daniel turned. "Come in." Teal'c entered the room and Daniel smiled a greeting. "Evening, Teal'c."

Teal'c bowed his head slightly. "Evening, Daniel Jackson. How did the afternoon proceed?"

Daniel turned back to staring out of the window. "We're getting closer." The Notermahens had large underground ruins but none of them could transcribe what was written. Daniel recognised the language as being akin to Latin, but it was taking some time to translate everything. "It should only take a few more afternoons." The team spent their mornings in negotiations and their afternoons just spending time with the Notermahens. Daniel and Lieutenant Nicola Carpenter spent the afternoons and most of the evening working in the ruins with two Notermahen scientists. He was unsure what Teal'c and Jack did. They could see from the inscriptions that there was information regarding the Stargate and a previous Goa'uld occupation, but they would need to identify the language fully before they could learn any details surrounding that aspect of the planet's history.

Daniel's stomach rumbled loudly. He turned to Teal'c and saw one of the Jaffa's eyebrows raised. "I'm starving. Nicola better hurry up with that food."

Teal'c nodded in reply.

Daniel glanced back out of the window briefly. It was almost dark now, but it was still pleasantly warm. This planet was warm all of the time. He had been told that they did experience winter, but it lasted only a few months and was not very harsh. Jack was still sitting in his usual spot. Daniel quickly drew the curtains, turning his back on his friend. "Teal'c, how do you think Jack is?"

"I am unsure of what you mean."

"Does he seem ... distant to you at all? I mean he spends every evening out there. Who knows what time he goes to bed? It wouldn't surprise me if he isn't getting any sleep."

"His work is satisfactory."

"I know, but that doesn't mean that he's alright. There's something on his mind."

"I, too, have noticed. Colonel O'Neill no longer spends any recreation time with us."

"I think it's about Sam."

"Daniel Jackson, you once informed me that something had occurred between Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill. Do you believe O'Neill's preoccupation to be concerning that?"

Daniel considered this a moment and then nodded. He had believed at the time that it best to inform Teal'c of their team-mates' relationship, but he had not disclosed what had happened. Their sex-life was *theirs* after all. "You wouldn't believe how complicated it is, Teal'c."

"Is Major Carter's child Colonel O'Neill's?"

Daniel was taken aback by Teal'c's blunt question. "What?"

"Have you forgotten, Daniel Jackson, that it was I present during the Zatarc incident when they both admitted to caring more than they were allowed? I am fully aware of feelings existing between them, as are most base personnel. It is not difficult to calculate that O'Neill left Earth and nine months later, Major Carter gave birth to Daniella."

Daniel could not help but stand there with his eyes wide open in shock. He exhaled slowly. "Believe me, Teal'c, I jumped to the same conclusion. Sam is adamant that Brad is the father of her child." He may as well tell Teal'c everything, Daniel decided. "However, Jack and Sam did have ... relations." Daniel's brow furrowed at the word _'relations'_. He did not like using that word. "And as far as I'm concerned, they both still have very deep feelings for each other."

"But the military regulations imposed upon them prevent them from acting upon their feelings?" Teal'c asked.

"Not completely. They also prevent themselves from acting." Teal'c raised his eyebrow in confusion. "I know, Teal'c, confusing."

Just then the door opened and in walked Lieutenant Nicola Carpenter with a tray full of food - it was their evening meal. Teal'c bowed his head and excused himself. "I will allow you to consume your meals in peace."

Nicola entered the room further and placed the tray on the edge of Daniel's bed. The room was not fully furnished and it contained only a bed and a wardrobe. Each and every night since the mission had begun, Nicola and Daniel would eat their evening meal on his bed, both leaning on the pillows and discussing their daily findings.

As they began eating, Nicola began that evening's discussion. "So from the text that we got through today there's still one paragraph that we can't decipher?"

"Correct. I wish that we had more of my books." Daniel took a mouthful of his drink and swallowed it. It was a water based drink, but very sweet. From his rough knowledge of chemistry and what a Notermahen scientist had told him, however, the liquid contained no molecule anything like sugar.

"Can't we ask General Hammond to send someone through with them?"

Daniel paused for a moment, a plan hatching in his brain. "We could."

"What?" Nicola asked.

"What?" Daniel repeated.

"You have that sneaky look in your eyes, Doctor."

"It's nothing. I'll get on that tomorrow afternoon. You can head down to the ruins and I'll catch up with you."

"Okay," Nicola said through a mouthful of the Notermahen equivalent of pizza.

"At least everything doesn't taste of chicken here."

Nicola smiled at his comment. "So, Doctor, are you going to miss me on SG-1's next mission?" Nicola was the joint fourth member of SG-1 with Major Carter and they took it in turns to go off-world.

"Of course I am, Nicola. No offence to Sam, but she never agrees with me as much as you do."

"Oh, so you only want me as someone who always agrees with you, huh?"

Daniel grinned. "Of course not. In the perfect world, I'd love both you and Sam to be off-world with the rest of us guys."

"I'd like that, too, Daniel," she replied softly. Whenever she was teasing him, she called him _'Doctor'_ and he liked it. "It'll never happen though. Carter would never give this up."

Daniel doubted that slightly after the past year's events. It was over a year now though, he realised, it had already been a year and a half since Jack and Sam had changed everything. "She might do now that she has Daniella."

"I wouldn't." They fell into a comfortable silence as they continued their meal.

X X X X X

The following afternoon, SG-1 left the large hall where they spent five mornings out of seven. On the other two mornings, they were allowed to do whatever they wished. Daniel normally spent more time working on the ruins or being shown the planet. Maybe that was when Jack caught up on his sleep, Daniel considered. The four of them paused as they always did. They had formed a routine now that seemed like normal daily practice.

Daniel turned to Nicola. "I'll meet you down in the ruins in about half an hour."

Nicola nodded. "See you later. Have a fun afternoon, sir, Teal'c." She then turned and left the three men alone.

"Where are you off to, Daniel?" Jack asked. He had become quite lax about keeping track of his team on this mission. He knew that when Daniel uncovered something amazing, he would hear the yelps of excitement from miles away.

"I'm off to the Stargate to ask General Hammond to send me some books that I need."

Jack nodded. "I'll walk with you for security reasons. Teal'c, what have you got planned?"

"Nothing."

"Well, have fun with that, won't you?"

"Indeed."

"Come on, Danny-boy."

Daniel said goodbye to Teal'c and then jogged to catch up with Jack. Once he did, Daniel fell into pace with the colonel. They walked along in silence. The team did not have much to talk about with each other on this mission. Daniel and Nicola talked a lot. She was relatively new to the team and Daniel wanted to get to know the lieutenant. The only thing to discuss with Jack was the latest discovery from the ruins. After a ten-minute walk, they were halfway to the Stargate and Daniel had finally plucked up the courage to say something to Jack. "Jack, are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"You spend a lot of time sitting out at night."

"Been spying?"

"No." There was a long pause. "I know that you told me not to ask-"

"Then don't."

"Did you tell Sam that you loved her?" Jack did not reply and silence fell over the two friends. "Jack?"

"No!" Jack shouted, coming to a dead stop. Daniel stopped walking, too. "I was about to. Tactful me decided to do this straight after she had given birth. What happens just as I'm about to declare my love? Her boyfriend walks in."

"He's not her boyfriend," Daniel objected.

"I know that," Jack bit back. "I can't believe I was ever going to follow your advice." He began walking towards the Gate again. After a while, Jack said, "What the Hell were you thinking?"

This time it was Daniel's turn to get angry and he stopped moving. "What the Hell was *I* thinking? I don't know maybe I was just following your lead of making bad decisions."

Jack stopped in his tracks and turned back to Daniel. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Hmm, let me see. Sleeping with your junior officer, does that ring a bell?"

"Are you trying to piss me off?" Jack shouted. There was an angry glint in his eyes, but that did not deter Daniel. The stresses of the past year and constant upheaval to the team had finally gotten to everyone. Daniel might have been able to cope with all the problems the team had suffered if his two friends had happily resolved everything, but they were still in a state of misery.

"No, I'm trying to make you see sense. In your own way, you've been depressed the past three months. There's been something wrong with you for longer than that. The only thing I can think of is it's because you love Sam and think there's no hope."

"That's because there isn't any." Both men were still shouting very loudly. "What hope can there be when she's the mother of someone else's child, for cryin' out loud?"

"That doesn't matter."

"Of course it matters, Daniel." Jack's voice softened slightly now, but the angry look in his eyes was still there.

"No it doesn't. Plenty of people are step-parents, you know."

"She's my junior officer again. I missed my only chance." All the anger left his eyes to be replaced by sadness and regret. "I had my chance that day, when she wasn't my 2IC. I blew it, Daniel."

"It doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does," Jack replied, the anger creeping back into his voice.

"Jack, all that matters is that you two love each other."

Jack laughed sarcastically. "Well, isn't that the main problem."

"What?"

"She doesn't love me."

"God, Jack! You are impossible sometimes." Jack looked at Daniel in curiosity. "Of course she loves you."

"Don't be stupid, Daniel."

"I'm not. She told me. She asked me not to tell you, but frankly I'm sick of the two of you. You keep avoiding things, putting obstacles in the way and this team is suffering. Stupid regulations state that nothing can happen between the two of you because of military procedure and how it could affect how you work. I've got news for the damn Air Force, Jack, your feelings for each other *are* affecting procedure!"

"No more than they would have done before, Daniel. Why do you think I'm staying away?"

"Not because of regulations, that's for sure."

"Why then?" he demanded. "If you know me so damn well?"

"Because you're scared of loving her, you're scared of taking that next step and most of all, you're scared of being rejected which trust me is not an issue."

"If she loved me, why hasn't she told me?"

"Why haven't you told her? Jack, she thinks that you're still with Laira. You led her to believe that you were still with Laira. What woman is going to admit their love to a guy involved with someone else?"

Jack sighed. "There's nothing I can do about it now." Daniel groaned in annoyance. "And not for the next three months, while we're here." Daniel smiled, copying Jack's actions. "I'm not promising anything. It isn't as simple as just her and I. There is her child, our careers and the team."

"Maybe you won't have to wait three months, Jack." Now Daniel smiled slyly as he walked off, leaving Jack puzzled as he continued onto the Gate.

X X X X X

Daniel had contacted Earth and asked General Hammond for the required texts. He had also said that Carter knew where they were. Hammond had agreed to send Carter along with the texts. Daniel smiled to himself as he continued walking back to the ruins and Nicola. His plan was to get Carter here so that she and O'Neill could talk and sort everything out. A long time ago, Daniel had been worried about the effect a relationship change on Carter and O'Neill would have on SG-1, now Daniel was sure that nothing could make things worse. Whatever change had occurred had already changed their team and their friendships. There were only two real options. The first was to move on from it all and form new friendships and relationships between the five team-members, whatever they may all be. The other option was to try and go back to how everything had been, what seemed now like years ago. Of course, Daniel knew that the only real way to do that was to travel back in time and whilst he was not yet discounting that option, he thought the former option was the most practical.

As he rounded a corner on his way back to the ruins to meet Nicola, he stopped abruptly when he saw three Notermahens lying on the floor. Carefully, Daniel approached them. They were all dead with what looked like Staff blast weapons to their chests.

Staff blasts.

Goa'uld. And there was no sign of Nicola.

"Oh, boy," Daniel whispered. He turned back to head towards where he had left Jack and Teal'c. He only managed one step when he found himself staring into a staff weapon.

The Jaffa on the other end of the staff considered him for a moment before muttering only one word. "Tau'ri." And then he went to fire the weapon.

Not again, was all Daniel could think as he waited for the instant flash of burning pain.

X X X X X

O'Neill cursed to himself as he ducked behind the nearest tree. Teal'c was only a few feet away, firing on the enemy Jaffa. The Goa'uld mother ship had come out of nowhere and sent down a small army of Jaffa. The mother ship had then retreated and disappeared, leaving behind the Jaffa that O'Neill and Teal'c were fighting alone. The Notermahens had no weaponry of their own and they had never seen anything like this before. They were all probably hiding under their beds, O'Neill thought.

That left the four members of SG-1 to try and stay alive while keeping the entire Notermahen civilisation alive. _Easy_.

They were still in proximity to the Stargate, where Daniel had left O'Neill not long ago, and as soon as Carpenter and Daniel were here, they would leave. They would return with a larger amount of firepower to save their allies. Daniel had only been gone a few minutes when the mother ship had appeared, depositing the army of Jaffa. O'Neill would not leave without his team-mates. He would not leave them here for a second, even if it were to get reinforcements. Conversely, he knew that he would not hesitate at being left.

That was one of the reasons why O'Neill was cursing to himself. He had believed so readily in the peace upon this planet that he was not prepared for this and it would be hard to get SG-1 off of the planet. He had not been carrying any weaponry and the Staff weapon with which he was fighting had been procured from a fallen Jaffa. Teal'c was sensible, however, and always carried his Staff. O'Neill had often wondered if the Jaffa slept with the damned thing. Neither of them had their radios, though and therefore there was no way of contacting Daniel or Carpenter. Even if they did have their radios, the other two members of SG-1 would be too busy in underground tunnels to remember their radios or too far beneath the surface for the radio-waves to penetrate.

O'Neill could not believe that he had been so lax in his job. Especially with the fact that he had always felt as if something were wrong. He had tried to think that it was just the environment which was making him unsettled. He should have listened to his head and kept up normal mission protocol.

He shot a few more approaching Jaffa and grimaced as an enemy blast narrowly missed his face. He was about to return fire when something different caught his attention. He turned toward the Stargate to see it beginning to activate.

"For crying out loud," he mumbled. It was over now. The amount of Jaffa that could be sent through a Stargate in its thirty-eight minute window meant that there was no way SG-1 could win and there was no hope for escape.

X X X X X

End of Chapter One


	2. Chapter 2

**More Than Anyone – Chapter Two**

Daniel closed his eyes as he always did when death was staring him in the face. Part of him could not help wondering what it would be that would rescue him this time. He also knew that it was an egotistical thought and that one day there would be no rescue. He was okay with that. He was not happy that one day he would undoubtedly die, but he was okay with moving on. He had done more than he could have ever wished for and saved more lives than most people had hot dinners.

He heard a thump as something fell to the floor. He opened his eyes and saw Nicola standing in front of him, a Staff weapon in her hand and a smile on her face. Her face was dirty with mud, red brick dust and a smear of blood across her cheek. She had saved his life once again.

"How many times is that now?" she asked.

"Twice."

"Then I figure that you owe me." She threw the Staff weapon at him as she bent down and retrieved another that was on the ground.

"Where did you get these?" Daniel asked as they both began walking, both of them on guard.

"Two Jaffa had the silly idea of attacking me. I came out of the ruins when I heard a scream from up here. As soon as I saw the Jaffa I headed to my room and collected my guns. Luckily they were all looking down into that tunnel we finished with last week, probably thought there were people down there. I figured I'd double check this site first, before heading to the Stargate. I assume that's where the Colonel and Teal'c would be." A silence fell over them as they continued to walk out of the town on high alert for the first time on this peaceful and calm planet. "Why do you think they're attacking?"

"Maybe these humans evolved to too high a technological level. Maybe the System Lord just wants to expand his territory and this planet is in the wrong place."

"Maybe they knew we were here."

"Doubtful," Daniel replied. "The Jaffa you just killed seemed very surprised to see a member of the Tau'ri here." He believed it was more than likely their technological level that had alerted the Goa'uld.

As they approached the town border, neither of them could believe what they saw. There were hundreds of Jaffa approaching them and the Stargate, a collapsed tree line and a fallen member of SG-1 trapped beneath a tree.

X X X X X

Major Samantha Carter felt nervous. She had not been this close to a soon to be active Stargate in over a year and now she was about to go through. It was a relatively easy mission, though. Deliver a few books to Daniel, who just so happened to be on the most peaceful planet in the universe. She would be there a day, maybe two and then she could return home to her daughter, Daniella. Daniella was seven months old now and Sam did not want to leave her, but it was her job and she had to. Plus, she was leaving Daniella in the hands of Aunt Janet, the base's chief Medical Officer. Until three months ago there had been a father for Daniella, Brad. But then Sam had discovered that it was genetically impossible for Brad to be her father and that had meant only one thing - Colonel Jack O'Neill was Daniella's father. Jack had been off-world for the past three months, making it hard for her to tell him. She had immediately and gently told Brad the truth and he had chosen to walk out of their lives. Sam had told him that he did not need to, but he had argued that Daniella was too young to remember him and it would be easier now rather than allow himself to fall more in love with the little girl when heartache awaited him years down the line. Despite never having been in love with the man, Sam's heart ached when she had watched Brad walk out of her life. His heart had been broken by her truth.

She had considered making a visit to SG-1 before, so that she could tell Jack. However she had deemed that too unfair to him – Gate to a planet, tell a guy he's a dad and then leave the planet. Jack would then be stuck on Notermah for another three months. That was not fair. It had also occurred to her that she could just send him a message through the Stargate. It reeked of even more unfairness though and it meant other people would come to know. Sam did not want that. There was no way that she could ever explain to General Hammond what had happened. She knew that it was not fair to keep Jack waiting, but she also had no way of telling him. It was impossible for him to be granted a leave from the mission he was in the middle of and Sam had no idea how he was going to handle the news, nor did she have any idea what would happen between them or the rest of SG-1. All that she did know was that she wanted to remain on SG-1, she wanted Jack to remain on SG-1 and she knew that Jack deserved the truth. She would never even consider keeping the truth from him once he returned to Earth, but at least in that situation he would be free to deal with the news any why in which he wanted to.

Then it hit her, Sam was about to see Jack. With an equal force, she realised that she should tell him. He had a right to know, but that would mean leaving him away from home for another three months, unable to see his daughter, unable to do anything about the situation. There was no way for him to deal with the repercussions of her admittance. The only other option was to lie to him for the next day or two, which she really did not want to do, but she figured that she did not have any other choice. Suddenly, the last thing Sam ever wanted to do was step through the Stargate. He was already likely to accuse her of lying because she had been adamant to him that Brad was the father when she had believed him to be. She had been wrong.

_X Flashback X_

"Who is the father, Sam? I need to run tests."

"I think I should tell him before I tell you."

"Don't leave it too long," Janet warned.

That would be hard, Sam thought to herself, because the father has just left on a six-month mission to the other side of the galaxy.

"I think he should be the first one that I tell."

"Well, don't leave it too long because I need to start testing him to make sure that everything is okay." There was a long pause before Janet spoke again. "Sam, how on Earth did this happen? I mean, how can there be a question over paternity? How could you not be sure who the father is?"

"I was sure," Sam answered. "I took the morning after pill with the first guy and then used a condom with Brad. I assumed that out of the two things, it must have been the condom that failed."

"What I meant was: how could you sleep with two different men in such a short space of time?"

Sam looked down at the floor, shame making her face redden. "I slept with the first guy, got drunk the next night and slept with Brad."

"Why did you go and get drunk when it isn't like you?"

"I was in a real state and had found out something that upset me so I just got completely drunk. I'm not proud of it."

Janet seemed to take this answer as suitable and changed her questioning. "Who on Earth was it?"

_'They're not on Earth,'_ Sam thought to herself. "Does it matter? How could it have happened, Janet?" she asked, momentarily ignoring that Janet would find out who the real father was when he returned and had to undergo all of the medical testing.

"Obviously the condom didn't fail you. It must have been the pill. Did you take both pills?"

Sam thought for a moment remembering that she had taken the pill packet out of her quarters before she had left in her emotional state. "I was very drunk, but I would have remembered not taking one of them. I would have noticed the next day and done something about it." She knew that she would not have ignored missing one of the two pills which had been in the packet. It had been embarrassing enough having to admit to having unprotected sex. It would be another thing to admit on top of that that she could not even follow simple instructions. The only redeemable fact in all of her actions those two nights was at least she had not had unprotected sex with a stranger, only her commanding officer and friend.

"How drunk were you?"

"It doesn't matter," Sam snapped slightly unable to handle of the questioning. She had to figure out what to do, what she was going to say to Brad and to Jack.

"Fine," Janet said with annoyance in her voice. She was only trying to be a friend to Sam and Sam knew it. She could not admit who the father was though. Even once she had told Colonel O'Neill, Sam doubted she could ever tell anyone. It could ruin both of their careers. "Were you sick after taking either of the pills?"

"No," Sam answered before a memory flashed into her head. _Sam made her way up to the surface and her car all the time keeping herself calm. She had emptied her mind - just the thought of everything made her want to scream, cry, kick something, be sick. She could not understand how she felt, how one small image made her feel like this. The confusion opened up everything else and she felt it all again. The pain, anger and sorrow welled within her again. She could not fight it anymore and with absolutely no control, Sam vomited down the side of someone's car. _

_"I should do something about that," Sam whispered to herself. She considered her options and decided that they all took too long and she really needed to get home. She took a moment to recover before getting into her car and going home. She needed to find a way to forget everything, to forget him._ "Oh, my God."

"What?"

"I was sick after the first pill. And to be completely truthful, I have no idea if the other pill stayed down; I took it whilst I was drunk."

"But you were definitely sick after the first pill?"

"Yes," Sam nodded. How could she have been so stupid? She knew about the morning after pill. Why had she forgotten about being sick? "I was upset about something and I was suddenly sick. It must have only been a few hours after taking the pill, if that." Janet said nothing in reply. "Janet?"

"Let me get this straight, you got incredibly upset about something soon after needing to take the morning after pill, went out and got completely drunk and ended up sleeping with a second man, but this time protected?"

"Yes, what does that have to do with anything?" Sam nearly shouted. She did not want to be dealing with this. She could not bear to go through all of this. What was she going to do?

"I'm just trying to figure out the similarities and differences between the two nights. No matter how reckless some of your actions may have been over those two nights, it still sounds as if you knew the first guy well enough to risk protection. If you did this under the assumption that there were no diseases, you must know him very well. The second guy was a bartender you met whilst drinking, therefore a complete stranger with whom even in your drunken state, you took no risks. Let's not forget that you only got drunk and slept with him because something that day, after your mystery man, upset you incredibly. There's only one answer," Janet paused for dramatic effect. "You slept with Colonel O'Neill!"

"What? No!" Sam objected forcefully.

"Yes you did. You slept with your C.O. and then tried to cover up the fact you were having his baby by pretending it was someone else's." Sam thought she could hear disgust in her friend's voice and she looked over at the innocent baby sleeping close by. She did not lie to anyone concerning her daughter's parentage and she would let no one accuse her of such a thing.

"No, I did not do that," Sam spat vehemently. "I never once thought that he was the father. I swear, from day one I believed that Brad was the father. I wanted Jack to be Daniella's dad, but as far as I knew and believed, he wasn't. I swear."

"Okay, I believe you," Janet relented. "What are you going to do?" Her voice had softened now, knowing that her friend was not a completely different person than she thought.

"There's not much I can do seeing as he's off-world for six months." She had sometimes wished that Jack could be the father of Daniella, but she had believed it to be impossible and had tried to banish the thoughts, fearing that it disrespected her child and Brad. Now that it was not, Sam did not know what to do. How would Brad react to finding out the baby he had been eagerly awaiting being born for nine months and had been a father to for the past four months was not his? Would he accuse Sam of lying, of being a bitch and seeking to use him? She was going to have to tell Jack when he got back, but what was she going to say and how was he going to react? What would he do? What would happen to him and Laira, his girlfriend? What would General Hammond do to the both of them? She had so many questions and no way of getting any answers.

"You slept with your commanding officer, Sam, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know. What can I do, really?" Sam paused in thought. "Janet, you can't tell the General."

"What?" Janet shook her head. "Sam, you can't ask me to do that."

"Janet, please. I'm just asking you not to tell him until Jack knows. It wouldn't be fair for Jack to return in six-months and walk straight into a court-martial when he won't know why. Let me talk to him, please."

Sam could tell that Janet was having a hard time with her request. Finally, Janet spoke. "Fine. I'll give you two weeks after Colonel O'Neill returns to do something. Then, I'm reporting everything to General Hammond."

"Thank you," Sam whispered. There was still the matter of telling Brad.

"Don't thank me, Sam. You messed up. You slept with your commanding officer. What were you thinking? Please don't tell me that you were drunk."

"No, I was sober. I thought we were starting something, Janet. The next day I told him that I loved him. He just never loved me. So stop yelling at me about sleeping with my C.O. and then getting pregnant by him. It wasn't like that and it could have been different. I believed that he cared for me too, okay? And I allowed it to happen but then there were some misunderstandings and I believed that he was with Laira. He wasn't, but by then I had already slept with Brad and Jack found out. He left Earth to be with Laira because of me." She paused, knowing that she was jabbering on like she often did with scientific terminology. Throughout all of this explanation, Sam had been looking at Daniella, wondering what would happen to them both. Tears were threatening to fall, but she tried in vain to keep them back. "And now Jack really is with Laira. Please, stop telling me I was stupid. I know I was. But I cared for him and I still do. I care for him more than I ever have before, but it doesn't matter."

Sam then left the room with Daniella, not even waiting for a reply from Janet.

_X End Flashback X_

Sam was jolted out of her thoughts as the Stargate activated in front of her. She could not be sure but she might have just jumped in fear. Hopefully everyone would put it down to her vacation time. What was she thinking; no one could suspect anything else because no one else knew. She was still not sure if she was about to tell him or not. Was it really fair? No. Would she be able to help herself though? Probably not. She wanted to run away, run far from the Stargate, the SGC, the Air Force and O'Neill. She could not handle this. She could not tell him what she had to tell him and an alien planet hardly seemed like the correct location. There were not many times in her life that Samantha Carter was unsure of what the right thing to do was. There were not many occasions when Samantha Carter was so afraid.

"Major Carter," General Hammond said over the speaker, "you have a go. Give SG-1 our best."

Sam turned and forced a smile to the general before walking up the ramp and allowing the wormhole to wash over her. It felt so strange and yet so familiar. She had missed this life, Sam realised as she was transported over thousands of planets and stars to reach her destination. No matter how much she loved her daughter and the new role she had in her life, nothing would ever replace Gate travel. Despite how much it pained her to leave her daughter alone at only seven months old, Sam knew that the adventurer within her would not allow these experiences to be given up on. She came out the other end of the wormhole and her eyes opened wide at the sights and sounds before her.

X X X X X

O'Neill was staring at the Stargate, anxiously waiting for something to happen. He knew that the grounded Goa'uld were making their way closer but he no longer saw the point in fighting until a figure appeared through the open wormhole. It was Carter and she was carrying Daniel's damned texts. "Carter!" he shouted. He was not sure why he shouted to warn her, she could not miss the hundreds of Jaffa.

She looked over and quickly ducked as a Jaffa blast narrowly missed her. Carter dropped the books she was carrying and rolled down the stairs onto the grass. O'Neill could not take his eyes from her as she began a run to cover.

"O'Neill!" Teal'c shouted from his nearby cover.

O'Neill tore his gaze from Carter and looked at Teal'c who gestured to the Jaffa. They had all trained their weapons on Carter and were beginning to fire on her. O'Neill followed Teal'c's lead and began firing on the enemy, trying to get them before they got Carter.

X X X X X

Carter was running as fast as she could. She was back in shape but had not run for her life in a while. It was strange and so normal. As she ran she grabbed the radio on her shoulder. "General Hammond, Major Carter here. SG-1 are under attack, sir. Repeat we need reinforcements." Before any reply from home could be sent, Carter was acutely aware of the Stargate de-activating. She hoped that her message had got through in time. She finally managed to get behind some cover. She took a few deep breaths before looking up at O'Neill. He was too busy fighting the enemy to notice that she was safe. Carter reached for her gun and was about to start firing when a large crash could be heard.

"No," she whispered.

X X X X X

Although his attention was fully on the Jaffa, Teal'c could see from the corner of his eye that Carter had made it to safety. Jaffa were still falling but a large number remained. They needed help. And it arrived in the form of Daniel Jackson and Nicola Carpenter. SG-1 might have a chance now, Teal'c decided. Until an explosion occurred to Teal'c's left. He stopped firing, lowered his Staff and looked over to the left. Both O'Neill and Carter were on his left, as was the Stargate, while the town, Daniel and Nicola were on his right. The explosion had been of Goa'uld origin and a row of trees now lay flat along the ground.

And there was a human underneath them.

X X X X X

Daniel kept firing on the enemy, even though he knew there was a member of SG-1 trapped under fallen trees. He knew that the injured member was not Teal'c but he was too far away to see who it was but there was another member of SG-1 crawling toward them. Daniel could only guess that Sam had come through with the texts and it was either her or Jack that was trapped. It was his fault if she were injured, Daniel thought as guilt washed over him. He would never play matchmaker again.

He had to focus on the Jaffa.

He had to make sure all five members of SG-1 made it home alive.

X X X X X

Sam groaned slightly as she opened her eyes. She was lying on the ground, staring up at the blue sky. She blinked a few times and then tried to sit up. Her head throbbed in pain and there was a humming noise in her ears. She raised a hand to her forehead and felt some blood. She turned to her right and saw Colonel O'Neill still lying on the ground not far from where she was. She ignored the pain in her head and crawled over to her fallen C.O. She had no idea what the Goa'uld were up to now, or how the other members of SG-1 were. All Sam could focus on was the father of her child. She reached him and saw that he was trapped, a fallen tree lying across his lower abdomen. She put her hand to his neck, feeling for a pulse. She could feel one. She cradled his chin and called to him. "Colonel?"

While she waited for an answer she tried to assess his injuries more. She could not even see his lower body and so had no idea the extent of any injuries. She noticed a slight gash in his forehead, probably similar to her own injury. With her free hand she smoothed his hair away from his forehead. She did not even realise what she was doing. There was no answer from him and Sam was beginning to panic. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"Sir? Colonel? Jack. Please hear me! Please wake up." She was no longer sure if her tears and her need for him to stay alive were due to Daniella or due to herself. Her pleading was heard and answered as Jack's eyes flickered open.

"Carter," he whispered.

She smiled slightly at the sound of his voice, relieved that for the moment he was conscious. Her heart almost broke as she heard the pain and suffering in his voice. She had felt like this only rarely. She was petrified. She did not believe that he was going to make it. Her right hand ceased stroking his forehead and instead stroked his cheek lightly. "You're going to be okay, Jack." Even as she made her promise she knew she did not mean it.

He smiled and then coughed in pain. "Funny, I don't believe you."

Sam opened her mouth to say something and then she paused. Before gating to this planet she had decided that telling Jack the truth about Daniella was unfair in his predicament, now as she stared in his eyes she knew she had to tell him. She had to tell him now before it was too late. More tears fell down her cheeks. Before she could say anything, he spoke and his words shocked her.

"Sam, don't cry. I don't have the energy to wipe away your tears."

She smiled faintly and then her face creased in anguish as Jack began to cough again. He was in so much pain and she knew what she had to do. "Jack, this might not make much sense, but you have to believe that it's the truth." She paused. "Daniella, my daughter, she's our daughter. She's yours, Jack."

"What?"

"It's a long story, but she's ours, Jack. You have a daughter. I'm so sorry."

He smiled faintly at her and then began coughing again.

"Jack?" she questioned as he started coughing up blood. "Jack? Oh my God, Jack, wake up. You can't die on me now, Jack, please. Don't leave me, Jack." In an instant, the coughing stopped and he was still. He was unconscious again. "No," Sam whispered as she allowed a small sob to escape her. She looked up and saw the others firing their staff weapons. "Daniel! Help me!"

X X X X X

Daniel looked up and saw Nicola approaching him, a coffee in each hand. She smiled and handed him a cup. He thanked her and then turned back to watching the patient in the chair opposite him.

"How is she?" Nicola asked, coming to sit next to Daniel.

Daniel nodded and shrugged. Sam was sitting opposite them in a chair, fast asleep. She was not really a patient, she was not in a hospital bed, but she was injured. She had refused to take a bed when they returned to Earth, choosing instead to wait outside of the surgical ward. Not long after Daniel and Nicola had joined the battle on Notermah, three SG teams had come through the Stargate. Once the Jaffa had been defeated, SG-1 had returned to Earth leaving the other SG teams to defend the planet from any further attack. Daniel had not even thought about which Goa'uld might have been behind the attack. Right now he had more important things on his mind. "No change," he answered Nicola. Now that he knew Sam was not badly harmed his guilt had been relieved. In fact he believed it was a good thing that he had asked for her to come - it was her message back to the SGC that had sent reinforcements to Notermah.

Sam suddenly awoke and sat bolt upright in her chair. She winced in pain and brought her hand up to the bandage on her head. She looked over at Daniel, confusion on her face. "I thought I was dreaming," she whispered. She continued to rub her bandage. "Obviously I wasn't."

Daniel got off his chair and moved to kneel in front of Sam. "Sam, you should be in a bed, on a ward, anywhere but on one of these chairs."

"You don't understand." She glanced over at Nicola and said no more.

From behind him, Daniel heard Nicola get to her feet. "I'm going to go see what's going on on P9R."

"Sam, what's going on?" Daniel asked once he was sure that they were alone.

"How's," she paused, "the colonel?"

Daniel looked down at the floor, breaking eye contact. "He's still in surgery. It doesn't look good at the moment." Daniel met her eyes which had a watery sheen on them. "He suffered internal injuries from the impact."

Sam nodded. "How long have we been back on Earth?"

"You've been asleep for over three hours. You really should go and get some rest. Maybe see Daniella."

"Oh my... where is she?"

"She's on level twenty two in some guest quarters with Cassie. Janet brought them both here when she came back to treat Jack."

Sam nodded, the panic leaving her face and she settled back down in her chair. She was obviously not planning on going anywhere. "It's all such a mess," she whispered.

"What is?"

"He's Daniella's father. I found out just after you all left for P9R and I was planning on telling him after the mission." She did not pause for one instant. She wanted to get everything out, to talk about it. She had talked things over with Janet over the three-month period, but Sam felt like she needed a fresh perspective. "When I found out that I was going to see him, I considered telling him. I thought that we would be able to talk about it and sort some stuff out. I'm not sure. I think I'd decided to not tell him when I got to Notermah. It's hardly fair, is it? I mean it was already a mess. And then when I saw him injured, I had to tell him. So now he knows and even if he didn't, he might die and..." There was nothing else she could say.

Daniel moved to sit next to Sam and he brought her into a comforting hug. It never even crossed his mind to question her on her story. He just held her as she cried on his shoulder before finally calming and falling asleep again.

X X X X X

"Sam? Wake up, Sam." Daniel pleaded to the sleeping major on his shoulder. She raised her head and looked at him questioningly.

"What?" she asked drowsily. "What's happened?" she repeated this time panic filled her voice.

"Calm down. It's alright. He's awake."

Sam sat straight up in her chair, staring in front of her at the row of chairs opposite. She was so relieved that he had awoken but now she had to face the consequences. She took a deep breath. "Is he okay? I mean, his internal injuries, is he going to be okay?"

"I think so. Janet said that he's awake and that you can go and see him. She hinted that we might need to call in the Tok'ra to heal him completely, but he's not going to die. He's been asking for you, but she wouldn't let him have visitors until now. He's been out of surgery for a few hours."

"Of course he'd be asking for me," she whispered. He wanted answers from her. Answers that he had every right in the world to want and that he deserved.

"You don't have to go see him right now, Sam. You should, but you don't have to. I can go instead." He was offering her a way out. He really was a good friend to her.

Sam considered taking him up on the offer. As long as Jack was still in the infirmary he was a prisoner and Sam could avoid him. She decided against it. She had never backed out of anything before. Acting like a coward was not her style, if it were she would never have made it to major. She was not about to start. Anyway, Jack had the right to talk to her, to find out the truth and know the full story. All she said was, "I have to," and then she stood up and without hesitation walked into Jack's room.

There was no one else in the room, not even a nurse. Only Jack lying on a bed in the middle of the room, the machines around him were making whirring noises. His head was slightly propped up on pillows, but he could not be described as sitting up. He had looked over as she had entered and smiled slightly. She wondered whether he had held back his smile because of his injuries or because he was not happy with her. Not that she could blame him if it were the latter. No, she could not blame him for anything. Sam was surprised that he could force any kind of smile for her. She was half expecting him to shout and yell, to call her all the names under all the suns they had ever visited.

She waited for him to say something, unsure of how to start the conversation herself. Should she just blurt out the whole story about Daniella's true conception? Should she start with pleasantries as if nothing had changed? Should she ask him if he were okay, despite the redundancy of it? She was not sure if any of those options were right and she was ashamed to admit that it even crossed her mind to convince him he had imagined her admission. Thankfully he spoke.

"My recommendation, never get hit by a tree. It hurts."

She smiled awkwardly and took a few steps closer to the bed. "Daniel said that you wanted to see me. How are you?" She knew that it was a stupid question because he had been hit by a tree and was lying right in front of her injured and fresh from surgery.

"Fine considering. Something inside ruptured, but Doc sorted it. I might be here quite a while though, which is ... fun. Might even need to call your Dad in to finish some bits." He raised his eyebrows at the thought of staying inside the infirmary until he was better. He hated the infirmary. He hated doctors and their needles.

"Ruptured, huh? You always have the most fun on missions." She had no idea what she was saying. She had not felt this nervous since her first meeting with Colonel O'Neill, which had been more than a little bit nerve-wracking.

"Second recommendation of the day, Carter, explain why the Hell I apparently have a daughter."

"Because we slept together, sir."

He laughed and then winced in pain. "I don't think that you should be calling me 'sir' during this conversation." He paused for a brief moment. "Okay, I'll ask more targeted questions. No lying."

She nodded, staring down at the floor. When she realised that he was not asking anything she looked up and met his eye. "I wouldn't lie to you about this, Jack. Go ahead." Despite her earlier use of his name, this time it stuck in her throat.

"How long have you known that I'm the father?"

"Literally just after you left for the mission. Janet had performed blood tests which made Brad not the father."

"So Doc knows I'm the father?"

"Yes. She guessed and I made her promise not to tell General Hammond until I had the chance to tell you. I didn't want you walking into a court-martial or everyone else knowing something that you didn't. I wanted to tell you in person."

"What, when I came back from a six-month off-world mission?" She could hear the anger in his voice and she understood why it was there, but she believed that she had done the only thing she could have. She had made the right decisions.

"I couldn't tell you through a wormhole with every member of personnel standing behind me in the control room!" She could not keep the anger out of her own voice, but she did try and refrain from shouting at him. "I had no plausible excuse to come and see you. I did the only thing that I thought I could. I agonised over the fact that you didn't know. I wanted more than anything to tell you the truth, to let you hold your daughter and bond with her. I couldn't see any other solution."

"Were you going to tell me today? When you were bringing Daniel's texts were you going to tell me?"

"I hadn't made up my mind," she whispered. She continued with an explanation without him asking for it. "I didn't know if it was very fair to let you know when you still had another three months there. I would have hated to know that I had a daughter but be kept away from her for three months, knowing and not being able to see her. I wasn't sure if it were fair on you."

"Nothing about any of this is fair on me." He did not say it angrily nor did he sound hurt. It was hard to tell what emotion lay behind his voice.

"I know. If there had been no six-month mission, I would have told you as soon as I found out. Jack, you have to believe me - I never did any of this with the aim of hurting you."

"I know. It's just, you lied to me, Sam. I thought I was the father and you *told* me that I wasn't. You *told* me, Sam. You lied to me." Now she could hear the hurt and the disappointment. It hurt Sam to know he felt like that.

"I didn't know. I really thought that there was no way that you could be the father. I was positive that Brad was."

"Who did you want to be her father?" Jack asked and Sam met his eyes again. There had been a quiver in his voice, it was only slight but she had heard it.

"I never thought about it," she lied, looking away again. "I had no reason to doubt what I thought was true."

"You said that you wouldn't lie."

She kept her gaze on the floor, the walls, anywhere but on him. She hated the fact that neither of them could lie to each other. Normally they did not say anything when they knew that the other was lying. All it took was a look from him and she would retract her lie. "Fine, I admit it. I thought about whom I wanted to be the father. And there were pros and cons for both you and him."

"Which were? I'd like to know why you did and didn't want me to be the father of your unborn child." The anger was back in his voice.

"All you need to know, Jack," she looked at him again, "is that I didn't want you to be the father because you'd run off to another planet with the woman you loved."

He looked at her and could see the sadness in her eyes. Everything was so screwed up between the pair of them because they could not tell each other the truth. They had played these games for years. Admitting to caring for each other, but keeping it in a room locked up tight until it spilled out. It had been inevitable that one day all of the feelings would come out. And they had but they had both still tried to guard their hearts. She had seen Laira kissing him and jumped to conclusions. He had found a stranger in her house the following morning. He had hurt her unintentionally. She had hurt him unintentionally. And so the cycle continued. He had maintained the façade of a relationship with Laira. She had mistakenly believed the stranger to be the father. It was all because they were both too afraid of other things and other people to just be honest.

The cycle had to end.

"No. I didn't." He whispered in reply to her statement concerning Laira and himself.

"What?" she asked in confusion. She looked at him trying to make sense of what he had said.

"I ran from here because I knew about you and Brad, but I didn't know everything. I thought it was because you didn't care about me. Laira kissed me before we left Earth, but I didn't kiss her back. I went with her for our son. I was never with her." It felt like such a relief to finally have no lies. He did not even feel the fear that he had believed he would after un-guarding his heart.

"Oh."

Everything between them was so messed up and it could all have been avoided if they had just been straight with each other from the beginning. He had to end all of the lying. They had a child now and he was not going to let anything hurt that. Not even themselves. "Sam," she looked across to him. "Throughout us being members of SG-1 I trusted you with my life. I trusted you more than anyone else ever. I loved you more than anyone else, but you lied to me and all we've ever done is hurt each other."

"I didn't lie to you, Jack. I honestly didn't think that there was a chance you could be the father. Even though I wanted you to, but then I didn't because I was convinced that you loved her."

"Maybe you didn't mean to lie, but you had initial doubts. You had other reasons to not want me to be the father. You can't honestly say that you didn't lie because subconsciously, Sam, you must have known." Both of them were guilty of putting something else before their love for each other and it had only ever led to heartbreak and lies.

She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. "There's nothing that can be done now. We just have to think of our daughter. I want you to be her father."

"And I will be. I want to be involved with Daniella and her life. I don't know what we're going to do about Hammond or regulations, but as far as I'm concerned I want you to remain on SG-1. I don't want anything to happen to Daniella's mom and that's you, so... I don't trust anyone else to keep you safe." He really did not trust someone else to be Sam's C.O. but he also could not bear the thought of being on SG-1 without her. Maybe it was dangerous given how he was taking the new revelations, to keep her close by, but right now he could not opt for anything else. He had returned from Edora with the plan to tell her that he loved her and to see what could develop from their previous friendship. In the months since his return, Jack had just been grateful that he had a friendship with her. SG-1 was his family and he would fight to keep it that way.

Sam nodded, her head still bowed. "What are you saying?" she whispered without even looking up.

"I want to work with you and be a part of Daniella's life, but you and I..." He shook his head and closed his eyes. If he looked at her he would take it back. He could not take it back, he had to end the cycle of hurting each other. "I'm sorry, Sam. All we've done is hurt each other because we couldn't be truthful. I don't want to hurt you or be hurt anymore."

Sam clenched her jaw and looked up. He was lying there with his eyes closed, avoiding her. She had been afraid of beginning a relationship with him, of admitting that she cared because then he could reject her. And he had without them even beginning a relationship. He was rejecting her and she knew that it was for good. Ever since they had decided to act upon their buried feelings, both had suffered so much pain because of the other. They could not mess around when there was a child involved. She understood his decision, partly agreed with it, but that did not mean that she was happy or glad about it. Sam had no idea if she really wanted to stay on SG-1 with him, but had the vague idea that it would not be that much different to before: having feelings for him that regulations prevented either of them from acting upon. It was just that now, added to that, there was a child to think about.

She nodded to herself and turned and left. She knew that he would not watch her leave. She knew that when she next saw him it would be as if everything was normal. She closed the door behind her and saw Daniel standing there waiting for her.

"Sam? Are you okay?"

She did not pause in answering or even wonder about what to say. "I'm fine, Daniel. I'm off to get Daniella and take her home. The Colonel's tired so I'm going to bring Daniella to see him tomorrow."

"Do you need a lift home?"

"No thanks. Janet assigned me a driver because of my head injury." She smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"

"Sure," he nodded. They both knew that something was wrong, but Daniel did not push it.

"Bye." Sam walked away from him, pushing everything out of her mind. She had to be normal. She could not let anyone know that she was hurting more than she ever had before. She loved the injured man in the nearby room more than anyone else before in her life. She knew that he loved her back, too, but their feelings did not matter. They had a child to bring up and their feelings could screw up everything where Daniella was concerned. Regulations had always forbidden them to act on their feelings and ever since they had acted on them, there had just been lies and misconceptions between the pair of them. They had both been in misery since trying to change their relationship, since they had stopped keeping everything in the room. It was time to start putting everything back in that room, for their careers, their sanity, their friendship and, most importantly, for their daughter.

She had to stay strong.

X X X X X

The End.


End file.
